The eminent Sanghan Venerable Master Hua completed the stillness in Los Angeles on June 7, 1995. A great star has fallen, and the people of the world mourn together! Yet we rejoice that in the Western skies, another great star has lit up and shines upon the earth, forever guiding living beings towards the great, bright path which they should follow. This great star is magnificent and luminous, and will forever be a symbol of the propagation of the Buddhadharma and the salvation of living beings.
I began admiring the Venerable Master Hua’s practice of good deeds and cultivation many years ago, but unfortunately did not have the opportunity to meet him and listen to his teachings in person. It was not until 1989, when the Venerable Master came to Taiwan to propagate the Dharma, that I was able to finally realize my wish to meet him.
In the summer of 1990, my son and daughter went to the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in America to attend the summer camp. After it was over, they remained at the Sagely City and attended Developing Virtue Secondary School and Instilling Goodness Elementary School. On my yearly trips to America to visit them, I would also pay a visit to the Master. I responded deeply to and derived great benefit from the Master’s kind advice. It was a source of inspiration to me and allowed me to make great progress both in my work and in my cultivation.
The Master counseled me as follows:
1. Be a good public servant. As long as something is beneficial to the
people and is within your scope of duty, you should exert yourself and
try your best to do it. Exhaust your mind and your efforts for the sake
of the country and society, and be without a self.
2. Don’t allow afflictions to arise in your mind. Calm your mind and
nurture your nature.
3. Don’t get mad, for if you do, you will become afflicted and cause
yourself to stumble.
4. As long as something is right, you should try your best to do it and not
care about what other people say.
5. Recite the Buddha’s name more, in order to get rid of karmic
hindrances.
Because I have firmly remembered the Master’s admonitions to me, I’ve been able to resolve many crises and difficulties, transforming danger into peace. For this reason, I consider these teachings the Master has given me to be treasures!
When the Master propagated the Buddhadharma, he often exhorted living beings to follow the Six Great Guidelines─no fighting, no greed, no seeking, no selfishness, no pursuit of personal advantage, and no lying. His compassion for the world’s people and his lifelong conduct of selflessness, honest practice, and propagation of the Buddhadharma has won people’s respect! Over the years, I have earnestly followed the Master’s Six Great Guidelines, and they have served as a guide for my daily speech and conduct, for my attitude at work, and in all aspects of social interaction, thus preventing me from going astray. For this, I am endlessly grateful.
Although the Master propagated the Dharma in America for many years, he was always mindful of his homeland. He was especially concerned about the living beings of Taiwan. To the end of his life, he kept his citizenship in the Republic of China and didn’t become an American citizen. Moreover, he always treasured and kept a flag of the Republic of China (showing a white sun on a blue sky, with a red background). His ardent patriotism and love for his fellow countrymen moved people’s hearts.
In 1962, soon after the Venerable Master arrived in America, the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out. In order to avert the potential disaster to the country, he fasted for five weeks. In 1989, when the Master returned to Taiwan to propagate the Dharma, he saw that people were pursuing luxury and vanity, deluded by utilitarianism, attached to fame, and living in corruption. Not only did he earnestly cry out from the depths of his heart, but he ignored his weak health and fasted for three weeks. He did that in order to dissolve living beings’ thoughts of greed, anger, and stupidity and to rescue them from the vast sea of human suffering, so that they could turn away from delusion and ascend to the other shore! This was a manifestation of the Venerable Master’s compassion for the world’s people, his great spirit of self-sacrifice, and his firm resolve to save living beings. In today’s chaotic society in which violence has become a trend, money reigns supreme, and people’s minds are flustered and unsettled, the Master’s Six Great Guidelines go straight to the heart of the problem. His exemplary style will remain in people’s hearts forever!
Regarding the Venerable Master Hua’s contributions in the propagation of Dharma, the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association and others have discussed this in detail, and I will not say more. What I want to say is, the good example that he set with his earnest propagation of the Buddhadharma has taught me and aided me greatly, and I am deeply grateful! From now onwards, I will remember the Master’s counsel even more firmly, continue to enrich my life, and carry out my work to the best of my ability, so that I will not fail to follow the Master’s earnest remonstrations and fulfill his sincere expectations of me.
Purge the fire in your liver, and avoid all disease;
Such a wonderful cure-all medicine: Set on the shelf and forgotten! Suo po he!
── Composed by Venerable Master Hua on May 14, 1993
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